Season 9: The Fight For The Next Generation
by Rosslyn Verity
Summary: Repost of an old story. Just as the Charmed Ones lives settle into a normal rhythm, a new force rises with the goal of wiping out the Warren line forever. The sisters should have known there's no such thing as normal.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

Wyatt sat watching TV as Chris played with some blocks on the floor. It was a Saturday and all was quiet in the Manor, except for the clinks and clangs of Piper cooking in the kitchen as the family matriarch prepared for the meal later that evening. Phoebe, Coop, Paige, Henry, and Billie, were all coming over for dinner.

Paige and Henry were first to arrive, "Hey Piper, wow, it smells good in here, you didn't have to go all out you know..."

"I'm a chef Paige, that's what I do. Or at least it used to be..." Piper sighed, lately in between taking care of the boys, trying to run P3 and helping Leo adjust to everything, she didn't really have time to cook anything anymore. "The boys have been getting...ham sandwiches for lunch. All the time. This whole Leo thing is just taking up a lot more time than I expected."

"Oh honey, of course its going to be hard at first." Paige said. "Leo doesn't have powers anymore, and Magic School was overrun with demons for God only knows how long. Give it some time and things will start to get easier. I promise."

Piper looked at her younger sister and smiled "Your getting good at this whole whitelighter thing aren't cha?"

"I like to think so." Paige smiled smugly

"Hey Guys, sorry we're late I had to run my column into Elise before we came." Phoebe interrupted their conversation, kissing them both on the cheek before popping open the refrigerator and shoving the salad she picked up from the supermarket inside. Coop entered the room behind her and moved to shake Henrys hand before proceeded to hug Piper and Paige. "Where are my two favorite nephews!?" Phoebe called out before running into the living room where Wyatt was now playing with some action figures and Chris was asleep. "You guys are getting so BIG!" She exclaimed.

Paige listened to her sister play with the boys in the other room for a moment before turning back to the conversation she and Piper had been having prior to Phoebe's arrival, "So where is Leo anyways?"

"Oh he's at Magic School, trying to get everything ready so the kids can start their second term on time."

"Ahh, and Billie?"

"As far as I know she's with him. In fact, why don't you orb over and grab them. Dinners going to be ready in about 15 minutes anyways and I don't want it to get cold.

"Oh-kay." Paige said giving a joking pout before disappearing in a swirl of white lights.

"The big games on, you want to catch it? While we wait of course." Henry asked Coop, while shooting a glance over in Pipers direction. They switched places with Phoebe as she headed into the kitchen.

Piper looked at Phoebe, "What?" Phoebe asked.

"You just look so happy is all," Piper replied with a tired smile.

"And you look beat." Phoebe gave her sister a once over, a deep frown creasing her pretty features as she moved to press the back of her hand against her sisters forehead, "Piper are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine..." Piper swatted away her sisters hand and put down the gravy she was spooning into a boat as she wiped her hands onto her apron and gave a small sigh, "It's just, nothing has happened for months, and when have things ever stayed quiet? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for having a normal life n' all, but usually no news it bad news. And I'm worried that something big is going to happen."

"Piper." Phoebe placed both hands on her sisters shoulders "We did it, we won. We beat whatever we were supposed to, and now it's our time to live our lives, without having to look over our shoulders all the time."

"I wish I agreed with you Pheebs, but I just have this feeling that something isn't right..." Phoebe opened her mouth to respond but at that moment Paige orbed in with Billie and Leo in tow. Piper gave Phoebe a look that said 'drop it' before grabbing the mashed potatoes and striding towards the dinning room, "Ready to eat?"

* * *

"That was delicious Piper." Coop said giving his belly a jolly pat.

"Fabulous, thank you." Phoebe beamed as her hand moved to rest on her husbands shoulder.

"I'm done." Wyatt announced, as the metal spoon clattered into the empty bowl, earning grins all around the table.

"Here come here," Leo said pulling his son towards him. "Wipe that ice cream off your face." He said as he dapped at Wyatt's face with a napkin, Wyatt pulled away, sliding out of Leo's lap and immediately headed for the television.

"I think I'm going to head out, I've got stuff to do." Billie said as she started to get up "Thanks for everything though, it was great."

"Wait just one second there missy." Paige said to her "Where do you think your going?"

Billie's glanced around the table as all eyes fell on her causing the young woman to squirm in her spot. "I just thought I'd, you know, go do some studying or research or whatever."

"For school?" Paige asked.

"No" Billie replied.

"Then for what?"

"You know, stuff." Billie said, her tone shifting to slightly annoyed.

"Billie, sweetie," Phoebe said gently, "Why don't you just leave it for tomorrow?"

"Leave it for tomorrow...Yeah, that's not really gonna work for me." Billie snapped.

"Listen, just cool down" Piper said. "And when you're in the right state of mind, we'll help you find whatever it is you're looking for. But until then, you need to cool it, okay?"

Billie rolled her eyes, "Right."

Piper sighed, "Billie, we are all here to help you but we can't if you just keep blocking us out."

"I'm trying to harness my powers and abilities on my own, right now." Billie said, only slightly more calm.

Paige frowned, "You don't have to do this on your own."

"I don't want your help. Don't you get it?" Billie seemed close to tears now, "And even if I did, you don't have _time_ to help me. You guys are all over the place these days. It's like demons and warlocks stopped coming after you and now you don't know what to do with yourself. Well I know what I'm doing with myself, and I need to do it on my own." She grabbed her purse and coat from the hanger, then, pausing in the doorway, she nearly whispered, "Don't come after me, I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

* * *

In the Underworld, the most powerful demons were assembling. A raised platform surrounded by torches lit the cavern where they stood. A cloaked figure stood on the platform, and as he began to speak, his voice was like a hiss that sent chills down the spines of even the most feared.

* * *

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were at Magic School, they were sorting through stacks and stacks of books attempting to put them back on the shelves in the library. "This is going to take forever," Paige complained.

"I know. And I have to get my column into Elise by 3:30" Phoebe replied.

"Didn't you just drop one off on Saturday?" Piper questioned. "How many columns does the woman need?"

"I'm trying to keep ahead of schedule, so if I do fall behind for some reason, it's not the end of the world." Phoebe said.

"Yeah I think your column not getting in on time is a bit lower on our list of things that will end the world." Piper joked.

"Yeah but it's still important to me. I mean, now that we're not fighting demons all the time, I have more time to devote to it, you know? I'm actually thinking about writing a book."

"A book?" Paige asked. "A book on what?"

"Love"

"Love?" Paige and Piper asked together.

"Yeah." Phoebe said, "Now that I've actually found love, I have a different perspective. Not to mention I have the perfect inspiration," she turned to place another book on the shelf but couldn't keep the goofy grin off her face.

"Ahhh" said Paige, "So things are going well with Coop?"

Phoebe turned to face them, fully grinning now, "It's amazing," Piper and Paige exchanged smiles at how happy their sister was.

"Details, I want details" Piper prodded playfully.

"Me too" Paige chimed in as she stood, "but right now, I have a lunch date with Henry, I've got to get to."

"Ah ah, I don't think so!" Piper appeared behind her sister and eased her back into her seat by the shoulders, "You are not leavin' us here with this mess to clean up. Sit."

Paige looked around, " _May the object of objection become but a dream, as I cause the scene to be unseen."_ A swirl of bright lights enveloped the room and suddenly, everything was exactly in place. Paige looked around satisfied with the results and gave a curt nod before looking smugly at her sisters, "Can I go now?"

"Personal gain," Piper groaned but she had a look on her face that said she wasn't entirely mad.

"Think of it, as for the children, the next generation, if you will." Paige replied with a wink before disappearing in a swirl of blue and white lights.

"You gotta hand it to her," Phoebe said to Piper with a smirk, " the girls sure has a way of getting things done."

* * *

"A direct approach will never work." The hooded figure hissed. "But if we can tap into their human emotions, we can rip them apart from the inside out. We will go under their radar and infiltrate them. Before they realize what is happening, it will be too late."

"Be aware!" the once quiet hiss boomed now. "That if we are to fail now, it is likely our line will be extinct soon enough. As the power of the Warren line grows stronger and the numbers of offspring increase, our chances for survival get slimmer."

"However, it will not do us well to launch our attack right away, continue as you will. We will lure The Charmed one to us, with _bait._ And we will force them into a decision that will begin a ripple effect to their ultimate demise!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

9:02

Phoebe and Coop kissed passionately on the sofa in the living area of their loft. His lips pressed against hers gently and she ran her fingers through his hair, throwing her leg over his lap so that she straddled him on the couch.

"Should we move this to the bedroom?" Coop breathed, flashing her a seductive grin.

"Definitely." Phoebe replied, biting her lower lip with a coy smile.

Coop lifted her into his arms as Phoebe giggled while he carried her into the bedroom.

* * *

Billie sat in the Magic school library, she had been pouring over books for days and was suffering from a sever case of lack of sleep. "There is always evil..." she muttered, turning over the current book in hand, _A Future Revealed,_ "yeah right," Billie grunted, only half to herself before beginning to read...

 _Good and Evil have been at war with one another since the beginning of time. It is not in either nature for one to accept the other. However, free will only exists if both good and evil a prevalent in the world, thus there must always be some element of each; Refer to the symbolism of the Yin and Yang. Throughout history there has always been evil, however in more recent history, evidence suggests that evil is overpowering good. Examples such as WWII and the Cuban Missile Crisis are only two of many examples of the world being on the brink of certain destruction. This destruction is a product of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Four Horsemen are traditionally named after the powers they represent: War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. It has been foreseen that although these forces are powerful, there are four more powerful than even these. There will be a good force released upon, but not realized by the world. It is said that this force of good is part of the reason the horsemen have not succeeded in the past. Though the horseman are the ultimate end they are governed by an even greater evil. The force of good must over come many evils in order to bring about a time of peace, and though evil will still exist, the balance of power will shift from the hands of evil to the hands of good. It is professed that the offspring of this force of good will bring about the rebirth of the world._

Billie thought to herself, four powerful good beings, could it mean the sisters and her? Hadn't she heard of the Horsemen before? Maybe not, then again, stranger things have happened... but before she could continue reading, and much to her amazement, she was swept up in a swirl of bright white lights.

* * *

Billie appeared in the attic of the Manor seconds later looking irritated as she caught sight of Paige standing across the room behind the podium that held the Book of Shadows.

"You could have just called," Billie pursed her lips in displeasure.

"Well that hasn't been working lately, now has it?" Paige replied as she came around to cross the room towards the younger woman.

"What do you want that?" Billie asked sounding as annoyed as ever.

Paige's expression softened slightly, "Billie, can we just, talk? Please?"

Billie crossed her arms over her chest defensively, rolling her eyes, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, the attitude for starters," Paige replied sounding slightly annoyed, but when Billie gave no indication of commenting Paige took a calming breath before continuing on, "Last week you stormed out on us during dinner and you haven't been answering your cell phone. I've been worried."

"Yeah, well, don't be," Billie replied.

"Why are you acting like a brat?" Paige snapped loosing her patience, "What have you been doing?"

Billie eyed her, "I've been busy."

"Doing what exactly? You know, I'm still your white lighter and you can always..."

Billie cut her off before Paige could become too emotional, "I know, I've just been doing stuff, you know, and dealing with...stuff."

Paige took a step toward Billie, but she immediately backed away, a small gesture that if Paige admitted it to herself, hurt a bit, and yet she understood, "Billie," she tried again, "I know that you went through hell and back with everything, with Christy, but..."

"It's not Christy okay? It's..." Billie looked down at the book in her hands "...it's this. I've been doing a lot of reading and stuff at Magic School, to, well, to keep my mind busy, and I stumbled across this. I was browsing through it. It prophesies and stuff, a lot of which have came true. You guys, the Charmed Ones, you're in here. It says you guys are the most powerful good witches the world has ever known, and it has been predicted for hundreds of years."

" Okay, so...what have you been doing with that information exactly?" Paige asked, trying to understand where the younger woman was coming from.

"Well" Billie began, grasping at straws as she went "I think that you, Piper, Phoebe, and I are a part of this one."

Paige looked at the article and browsed over it. Then she looked back at Billie, "Are you serious?"

"Well yeah, I mean, why not, right?"

"Because, Phoebe, Piper and I have already fulfilled our destinies, and you're just a kid," Paige reached out to Billie and this time was able to connect as she wrapped a comforting hand around her wrist, "It doesn't work, okay?" Paige tried searching Billie's eyes but she just looked away as tears began to cloud her eyes, her heart swelled and her head swam, she felt like a rug had been ripped out from beneath her but she wasn't exactly sure why.

"I'm not a kid," was all Billie could muster but Paige watched as tears began to cloud her eyes and this time she allowed Paige to wrap her in a comforting embrace.

Paige sighed, "Yeah, you are," she hated seeing Billie like this she also finally felt some relief, like maybe, just maybe, she was getting Billie back, slowly."You're also are my charge," Paige whispered into her ear, "but more than that, you are my family," Billie whimpered, "I don't want to see you go down this path, not again."

"I could have done something different." Billie sniffled, "I could have saved her too."

* * *

Piper had just finished dropping Wyatt off at school and Chris at Daycare. She was on the way to the club to make sure set up was well underway for the band playing later that this evening as she ran through the list of things she had to get done before picking up the boys again at four. She decided to go to the herbal store first since it was on the way and she needed some lavender. She turned down a small side street and turned into a gravel parking lot. The place looked a bit run down but they had some of the highest quality and lowest priced ingredients in the city.

Piper threw the car into park and hopped out of the SUV. As she entered the shop a little bell chimed after her. A woman with long silver hair stood behind the counter. "Blessed be," the woman greeted her, "is there anything I can help you with today?"

"I just need some herbs" Piper replied, noticing a man in the back corner of the shop look up from where he was rummaging through a bin, "...and spices" Piper added. "You know, for cooking." Piper smiled at the woman and handed her the list of ingredients she needed to pick up. The woman returned the smile, gave the list a quick glance and nodded before turning her back and disappearing into the shelves.

After about ten minutes, Piper began to grow impatient when the woman hadn't returned. "How long does it take to get a few pesky herbs?" she muttered to herself.

As if on cue, the woman returned and began to ring up Pipers purchases. Piper watched her a she fidgeted nervously, even appearing to shake a little.

The man who had been browsing came up to the counter also. He was holding a large ceremonial knife, Piper glanced over at him. The man noticed and turned his body to look completely at her.

"I love these things," he offered with a smile, "I collect them, although some people seem to think it a bit strange to collect ritualistic knives."

Piper chuckled a little nervously "haha, do they now?"

"Yeah" he replied, "But I'm actually in a hurry, do you mind if I slip in front of you?"

"No go ahead" Piper said, mostly due to the fact that she was already late and another minute wasn't going to kill her.

The woman at the counter looked up at Piper, and then to the man. She hastily rang them both through and began sweeping her shop.

 _Whatever_ Piper thought as she placed the herbs along with her purse in the passenger seat before climbing into the drivers side and taking off without even noticing that the man who had purchased the ceremonial knife was still lingering outside.

He watched Piper's car fade from view before returning inside to the shop.

As he entered the shop the tiny woman shook beneath the cotton blouse and long skirt she was wearing, "Leave now" the woman's voice immediately rang out, "I did as you asked."

"And yet, you didn't" the man replied as he took a threatening step towards her. "Now I have to take care of this myself." The man looked at the athame in his hands, grabbed the tiny woman by the shoulder.

"Please," the woman begged as she tried desperately to escape from his hold.

The man smiled, as he stabbed her deep in the belly, "Kind of poetic isn't it?" he asked as he watched the woman woman gasp for air only a moment before shimmering away.

* * *

Phoebe sat in her office, she was distracted, just like she had been all day. She didn't feel quite right. Sighing, she looked down at her advice column-

 _Dear Distracted and Dangerous,_

 _If you can't seem to focus your attention on what needs to be done, try to take your mind off of things for a little bit. Then, go back to your issue. Take some time alone, have a relaxing bath or go for a walk to think about it. If that doesn't help, try confiding in someone you trust or seek help from a medical practitioner._

Phoebe chewed the end of her pen, not feeling very confident writing to someone about how to overcome being distracted from an important issue, when she herself, couldn't even write her advice column without something being on her mind. After a moment, she snatched her phone and dialled Pipers cell. The cell rang several times before jumping into Pipers answering machine, Phoebe frowned as she dialled the manor and then P3 and received no answer at either number. She could feel the panic beginning to rise in her stomach. Despite being a witch for nearly a decade, the fear of something happening to her family never really went away. _It's fine_ , she tried to convince herself, but something told her that things were definitely not fine.

* * *

Piper grabbed her cell and was about to call the daycare to inform them she would be about 20 minutes late picking up the boys, when she realized her phone was dead. "Great" she mumbled, "when did that even happen?" she asked herself.

The band was set up doing a sound check, as Piper strode across the room to grab the phone from behind the bar. She picked it up and waited for a dial tone but none came indicating that this phone was dead too. Piper frowned, "Of course it is" she muttered under her breath, noting to call the service provider. Piper returned to her office, "Paige" she yelled. "PAIGE!"

A moment later, bright blue lights engulfed the room as Paige appeared in a flurry of orbs, "Yeah, what is it?" the youngest sister looked concerned.

"Can you pick up the boys from Daycare at 4 and bring them home, I'll be there around 5?"

"Uh sure.." Paige replied seeming a bit confused, "But why couldn't you just call and ask, I thought you were in trouble or something."

"Apparently all the phones are all dead!" Piper replied warily.

"Oh, weird." Paige replied a little uneasily, "Everything okay?"

"Yes, yes," Piper insisted, although she had to admit that Paige was right, it was strange, "now go, I've got lots of work to do and not a lot of time to do it." She said shooing her sister out. Paige shrugged and orbed away.

Piper dropped the bag of ingredients she had purchased from the potion store onto her desk and returned to the main room to continue setting up for the evening event.

As soon as she was gone, the man from the herb shop shimmered in, he picked up the jar with fresh rosemary and replaced it with a similar looking herb. He then took the athame that still had blood on it and mixed around the herbs.

The first seed had been planted.

* * *

When Piper got home shortly after 5, Paige was sitting on the couch in the living room playing a board game with Wyatt and tickling Chris's belly. She laughed at her nephews before looking up and noticing Piper leaning in the doorway watching the moment, "Hey, did everything go okay?" Paige asked.

"As well as can be expected" Piper replied giving Wyatt's hair a bit of a ruffle before moving to take Chris from her sister, "Thanks for picking up the boys."

"Oh no problem, that what aunts do, right Wyatt?"

"Yeah." Wyatt said smiling.

"We're just gonna finish our game here and then I'm going to head home for dinner with Henry." Paige called after Piper as she headed into the kitchen balancing Chris in one arm and several bags in the other.

Wyatt watched his mom and then got up and followed her into the kitchen. With baby Chris on her hip and everything else in her other arm Pipers hands were full, but she finally managed to put everything down and begin unpacking and putting things away.

Wyatt entered the room, "What is it Wyatt?" Piper asked, Paige followed Wyatt in just in time to see him put up his shield. First, Chris orbed out of Pipers arms and into Paiges, and then the bag of everything she had just bought was orbed into the trashcan.

Paige looked surprised "What the..."

"Wyatt," Piper said firmly, but Paige could hear the confusion in her older sisters voice, "Why did you just orb things away from mommy?"

Wyatt just stood there with a pouty look on his face. Paige looked at him, "Maybe he knows something we don't?"

"I doubt it" Piper sighed, "He's probably just being a little big of a trouble maker again, aren't cha?"

Wyatt lowered he shield as his mom picked him up, "I know I haven't been spending as much time as I should with you guys, but tomorrow we're going to play together all day. Okay?"

"Kay" Wyatt said with a reluctant smile but he was still eyeing the trash carefully.

* * *

The phone rang in Phoebes office, she grabbed it, "Piper? Oh hi Daryl. No, it's a fine time, it's just...never mind. What's up? Anna? Oh no. Yeah I did, just from shopping there, yeah I'll swing by the manor, and meet you there in an hour? Okay. I sure hope so." Great Phoebe thought as she gathered her stuff and left to her car, I hope Piper wasn't right. I hope this wasn't the calm before the storm.

* * *

Phoebe entered the Manor. "Hello?" She called.

"In the kitchen." Came Paige's voice. Phoebe's heart skipped a beat at the unexpected voice of her younger sister.

"Paige? Where's Piper?" Phoebe asked trying to keep her mind from running to the worst possible scenario.

"She's just upstairs putting the boys down for a nap," Paige looked up from reading the paper, "Everything okay?"

"I've just been not feeling so well today and I thought..." Piper entered the room halting their conversation, "Piper!" Phoebe sprang towards her older sister.

"Phoebe?" Piper took her in, "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"That's what I said." Paige replied looking between them from her spot at the table.

"Not really," Phoebe frowned, choosing to forego sharing her earlier worries with her sisters for now, "you know that lady who owns the herbs store, she was killed, Daryl just called, he wants us to check it out."

"Oh no, I was just there today." Piper frowned.

"You were?" Both Phoebe and Paige asked.

"Yeah just picking up a few things."

"Coincidence people? I think not" Paige sighed.


	3. Chapter 3 and 4

**Chapter 3**

9:03

The sister arrived at the old potion shop scene after retrieving Billie and asking her to watch Wyatt and Chris. Darryl spotted them, giving them a nod as he strode across the gravel parking lot to meet them. and motioned them closer. "I thought, maybe, you guys could help or something. After all it does seem to be your specialty, and..." he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I know, _we_ don't do this anymore, but it doesn't mean I can't tip you off now and again. It's just I don't want to risk my life anymore, my family, I can't..."

"Darryl," Paige said interrupted, giving him a small pat on the arm, "it's alright, you don't have to explain."

He looked at the three of them, and glanced around before lowering his voice, "Maybe Phoebe could get a premonition or something."

Piper sighed, her hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets as she took in the scene around her. Only several hours before, the alley had been quite, now, police lines were drawn and blood had been spilt. Maybe if she hadn't been in such a hurry she could have stopped it. "I know who did this," Piper said a bit sadly.

Darryl tried to catch Piper's eyes but she refused to meet his stare, "Tell me you didn't have anything to do with this."

"I assume it happened shortly after I left here today." Piper explained.

"Was it a...demon?" Daryl whispered.

"I don't know, but if he was human, I can describe him for you. I'm willing to bet he killed her with that athame too." Piper shook her head, "I shouldn't have left, I was, just, in such a rush."

Paige gave her sisters shoulder a comforting rub, "You don't have to go inside." She told her quietly, "Phoebe and I can go."

Piper swallowed the lump in her throat, "No, I'm fine." Paige nodded and the sisters started to walk inside leaving Darryl standing there perplexed.

As Piper followed Paige into the shop she couldn't help but notice that everything was as it had been only hours earlier. Not a hair was out of place, except for the body that lay on the floor.

Piper approached the covered figure first, "I am so sorry" she whispered as she dropped to her knees and pulled the cover back a little to reveal a stab wound in the woman's stomach.

Phoebe gagged and Paige caught it out of the corner of her eye. "You alright Phoebs?" Paige pursed her lips at Phoebe who looked more pale than usual but Phoebe waived her off.

Piper turned to look at her sister, tears forming in the corner of her own eyes as she fought her emotions, "Do you think you can get a premonition so we can know what were looking for?"

Phoebe took a deep breath, suddenly feeling very unwell, "I don't know if I can, " Phoebe clenched her fist to stop it from shakking.

Piper and Paige exchanged looks of confusion, "Can you try?" Piper asked her sister firmly looking her sister in the eye.

"I don't know." Phoebe burst out as she gasped for breath, the world around her seemed to swirl and her vision blurred.

Paige's brow creased with worry as she stepped towards her sister wrapping and arm around her to keep her upright. Phoebe leaned into Paige, relying on her sister to keep her up. "Are you okay?" Phoebe pulled back and nodded, fighting the nausea she dropped down to her knees beside Piper and offered her sister her hand. Piper squeezed Phoebes hand and watched as her sister gently placed a hand on the woman's head and was immediately swept into a vision.

 _The demon stabbing the woman with an athame in the shop. P3, switching the herbs in Pipers bag. The Manor, Billie, Wyatt, and Chris asleep, but something seeping from the cupboard and going through the house like a gas. Wyatt's shield goes up in his bedroom, but Chris begins to cry and Billie goes to him, she begins to cough as she enters Chris's room, before she can get to him. She collapses._

Phoebe gasped, as she came out of the vision "What'd you see?" Piper asked immediately, wrapping an arm around Phoebe to keep her upright.

"We need to get back to the Manor now!" without letting go of Piper, Phoebe reached out to Paige, who looked around quickly before enveloping them in a flurry of blue and white lights.

* * *

They orbed in front of the house, "We'll get them out of the house first," Paige said, trying to be the sister who remained strong, "And then we'll need a spell for getting rid of that thing, whatever it is. Lets just call them from the house first? Okay?"

The girls held hands, Piper didn't care who saw them, but the other two looked around briefly. They began to chant:

 _"Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the sky, come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here"_

In a swirl of lights Billie, Wyatt and Chris, all appeared in front of them. Wyatt seemed fine and Phoebe picked him up, but Billie was barley breathing and Chris had stopped all together.

Piper's breath caught in her throat as she dropped to the ground to scoop baby Chris into her arms, "Paige," her voice quivered "heal him. Please." Paige immediately knelt beside Piper and put her hands over Chris, after a moment, a warm light emitted from her hands and Piper let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, as Chris woke up. Piper smiled through her tears and and she hugged Chris tight. After a moment, she pulled back to look at him. "Your okay baby. Arn't you? Yes, mommy's here now." And she hugged him again.

"Paige," Phoebe said, "Billie"

Paige moved to Billie and held her hands over the young woman, this time it took a little longer, but finally the light appeared and Billie's eyes fluttered open. Paige helped her to sit up, "You okay kiddo?"

"Yeah, I think so. What happened?" Billie asked confused as she took in her suroundings.

"We think there was some kind of spell put on one of the herbs Piper bought today, which we really need to get rid of before it leaks out of the house and infects half the neighbourhood." Paige replied, "...any suggestions?"

"Uh I think I may have one," Billie suggested, "it's not really for this but I could maybe make it work."

"Well make it work fast!" Piper said "before it's too late, we can't go around healing everybody."

"Okay..." Billie thought for a moment then began...

" _From the earth through whence it came, take thee to the ground, Release the evil from it's grasp, to extinguish what was found."_

A wave washed over the house, "not bad for on the spot" Phoebe commented glancing at Billie.

"What did you say that spell was originally for again?" Paige asked.

"I didn't." Billie replied.

Paige looked like she was about to start an argument with Billie, but Piper intervened. "We'll talk about that later. Right now we need to get to the book and figure out what that bast..." she looked at Wyatt looking at her, "...uhh guy did to my sons and how to kick his sorry..."

"Butt?" Paige offered. Piper glared at Paige and started inside.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

9:04

Piper reached the attic, still clutching Chris, with her sisters and Billie following close behind. She grabbed the Book of Shadows and began flipping through it. Paige took Chris from her. "Do you think someone should go downstairs and check the herbs?"

"I'll go." Phoebe said and she headed downstairs.

When Phoebe arrived in the kitchen there was somewhat of an odour coming from the cupboard. Phoebe gagged. It was not difficult to spot out which herb the demon, or whatever they were dealing with, had tampered with. Phoebe grabbed the jar labelled rosemary and trekked back upstairs.

"Found it." Phoebe announced as she re-entered the attic. She held it slightly away from her, "It doesn't smell good."

Piper went to Phoebe and snatched the herb out of her sisters hand to examine it, "This isn't rosemary at all. It's belladonna."

"Belladonna?" Paige asked taking it from Piper to examine it herself "There's something else mixed in here too." Paige exclaimed. "I think its...I think it's blood. Eww."

"That doesn't make any sense." Phoebe said.

"Yeah." Piper agreed. "The smell of belladonna can't hurt you. And why would there be blood..."

"But when combined with the blood of an innocent, spilled by a certain dagger, it can." Bille had been leafing through the book and had clearly stumbled across something. The sisters joined her at the book and read:

 _Belladonna is a sedative, often used in tea to succumb the user to a restful sleep. However when used in excess, may cause the person to become unconscious for several hours, in extreme cases it can sometimes result in death._

 _Belladonna has been used in demonic ritualistic potions, which involve the process of spilling an innocents blood, and combining the blood with the belladonna by using an animus dagger. The dagger represents the innocents soul and in turn creates a extremely strong poison that can cause death within several minutes._

"Oh my God." Phoebe said covered her mouth as they all took in how close a call they avoided.

"Paige, can you take the boys to Magic School and leave them with Leo?" Piper asked and Paige nodded.

"Common baby." Paige said softly, taking Wyatt's hand, and leading him over to where Piper was.

"You wanna go see daddy for a little while, huh buddy?" Piper asked her oldest son pulling him into a hug, "Okay," she continued handing Chris over to Paige, "Bye bye baby." She pressed a kiss to his head, and fixed his hair, realizing just how close she was to loosing her boy, but she forced the thought from her mind, "Hurry back Paige, so we can figure out what's going on." Paige nodded before disappearing in a flurry of orbs.

"Okay now lets see what kind of demon uses this _animus dagger_ and summon his sorry ass." Piper snapped.

Paige orbed back into the attic, to find her two sisters waiting for her return. "Did you find him?" she asked.

"Well," Phoebe said "We found a demon who uses daggers to spread disease, suffering, and pain. His name is Acerbitas."

"Do we have a summoning spell?" Paige asked.

"No, we don't" Piper replied, her patience cleaning waning, "There's only a spell in here to take us to him, so..."

Phoebe interrupted her, " …I don't think its a very good idea. It could be a trap and..."

"I don't care Phoebe," Piper snapped, cutting her off, "he attacked my sons, so I'm going to vanquish him!"

"We don't even know how to vanquish him" Phoebe supplied.

"He's not even an upper level demon, what is your problem?" Piper growled.

"My problem is, that I'm not sure I'm ready for this...again." Phoebe replied, her eyes glistened.

"Well you better get ready!" Piper replied and Phoebe sighed, "Paige what do you think?"

Paige shrugged, "Well, if he isn't an upper level demon, then we'd probably be able to vanquish him with a power of three spell."

"Ha!" Piper eyed Phoebe.

"But…" Paige continued, "to go there, and not know what to expect, he could already have a poison planted and ready for us. It could be a trap, to lure us there."

"Ha." Phoebe said to Piper, although she sounded more relieved than anything.

"Fine" Piper said "I'll do it on my own." Phoebe and Paige exchanged nervous glances.

"Piper..." Phoebe began.

"No Phoebe. If you don't want to hunt demons that's your own business, but they attacked _my_ sons and I will do whatever I have to, to make sure that whoever did this rots in hell. " Piper strode out of the attic.

Paige followed Piper into the hallway, "Ugh, hello, earth to Piper," Paige called and Piper kept walking. "Hey! Can you stop ignoring me for onesecond and _listen._ " Piper stopped but didn't turn around so Paige scooted in front of her, "Going in there alone would be suicide"

"Well unless you plan on helping me, get outta my way" Piper responded.

"I'm not letting you go in there alone" Paige told Piper, indicating that if Piper insisted on this, she had her support.

"Neither am I." Phoebe appeared at the door way "It's just, we've been trying so hard to have normal lives and it's finally happening. Everything we've ever wanted. I, I've wanted to tell you guys something all day, but, I haven't been able to find the right time..."

"Phoebe I'm not sure if _now_ is the right time" Paige tried to defuse the tension between her two older sisters.

"No Paige, I have to tell you guys this now, so you understand," Piper was watching her sister intently. "I..." Phoebe took a deep breath "I'm pregnant." Both of her sisters stared at her in shock. Her and Coop weren't even married, or engaged as far as either of them knew. "And I'm scarred, I don't want anything to happen to this baby, I've wanted this for so long."

Piper immediatly crossed the hallway towards her sister and Phoebe fell into her arms, "Sweetie, I am so sorry, I, I didn't know." Piper pulled her sister back and looked at her. "We won't let anything happen to our niece, I promise." She hugged Phoebe again.

When the two finally pulled away, Paige could see Phoebe was crying, she went to hug her big sister "Congratulations!" Paige said with a smile as she embraced her.

Phoebe laughed, choking back her tears. Piper looked worried, "Okay, well Paige, we're going to have to do this without the power of three then, are you up for it?"

Paige pulled away from Phoebe and looked at Piper "Of course" she replied, softly brushing a piece of hair out of Phoebe's eyes.

"You have the power of three. I'm coming with you." Phoebe told them.

"I'm not sure…" now that Piper knew the truth, her big sister instincts were in high gear.

"Yeah Phoebs, Paige agreed, we're good, don't worry."

"No, I love Wyatt and Chris too, and we are going to have to learn to protect our kids, together. I can't do this alone, and I don't want you guys to do it alone either, we're sisters after all."


	4. Chapter 5 and 6

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

9:05

Acerbitas was tall, he had dark hair and pale skin, and paced impatiently back and forth in a dark carven. A dark hooded figure shimmered in before him. "You said they would be here" he snapped at the figure.

"They will come." The figure hissed. "Just remember the plan. We don't want to kill them, not just yet. The middle sister is the weakest. Remember what we talked about and do not disappoint me. Or it will be the last thing you ever do." The figure then shimmered out.

As if on cue the Charmed Ones appeared in a bright swirl of lights.

Finally, Acerbitas thought to himself, "You got my message, I see?" He greeted them, "I must admit, it took you much longer than expected to get here. Better late than never though I suppose. So, what do the Charmed Ones have up their sleeve for little old me?"

Piper took a threatening step forward, "Who are you working for?" She demanded, her voice strong and cold.

"Me? I'm not working for anyone, what makes you think that?" Acerbitas questioned.

"Because your a lower level demon, and you know you would die if you weren't being protected." Phoebe countered, sounding menacing although still shielded by her sisters protective shoulders.

"We're not going to get anything out of him" Paige whispered into Pipers ear.

"Just a bit longer" Piper whispered back. "Now, I'm not stupid" she yelled, "So your going to tell me who sent you, or I'm going to vanquish your sorry ass!"

Acerbitas began to laugh, it was sickening to the sisters.

"What is he laughing about?" Paige asked a littler nervously.

"I don't know," Phoebe said, "But its probably not good."

"Piper throw the potion now!" Paige yelled.

Piper threw the potion they had made, as Acerbitas changed from a human into a green monster who appeared to be wrapped in sea weed, the potion exploded before it got to him as plants began to spout out of the ground blocking the path between the sisters and Acerbitas. "Conium maculatum" Acerbitas began as he pulled a dagger out from his seaweed cloak.

"Isn't that the..." Paige began.

"Yes" Piper said through tight lips.

"A handy little dagger, if I do say so myself." Acerbitas boomed as he flipped around the _animus_ dagger. "Enhances things, although that plant in front of you will kill you if you ingest only a few leaves on its own." He dipped the dagger into a cauldron that contained a thick red liquid and retracted it, the liquid dripped down. "I don't want to do that, not just yet anyway." He began to walk towards them.

"DAGGER!" Paige yelled, holding out her hands, white lights swirled around the dagger but it did not come to her as she called, Paige looked helplessly at her sisters.

"Ah ah ah" Acerbitas wagged a disapproving finger at them with one hand and clutched a strange plant in the other, "Protection, from you, for me, and your powers from this place."

Piper tried to blast him several times, "Ohhhkay, do we have a backup plan?"

"That was the backup plan" Phoebe replied, trying to keep the panic out of her voice as the sisters began to back away from the demon. The sisters watched a wine emerge from the ground and wind its way towards, them splitting off Piper from Phoebe and Paige.

"Paige," Piper said, "Get Phoebe out of here."

"Piper I..."Paige began.

"We're not leaving you here!" Phoebe said concern streaking across her face.

"Paige, NOW!" Piper yelled.

Paige took one look at her big sister, her eyes were set and determined, Paige grabbed Phoebes arm, but she tried to pull away, before she could, Paige orbed them out.

Acerbitas watched them go "So I guess it's just you and me now" he said as he walked closer to Piper.

 **Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

9-06

Paige orbed into Magic School, and Phoebe ripped her arm away from her younger sister and glared at her. "You shouldn't have left her there by herself Paige!"

"We didn't have a choice." Paige countered, but her mind was racing with things she could have done.

"We have to go back." Phoebe told her the panic rising.

"Your not going anywhere..." Paige said to Phoebe.

Leo and Billie entered into the room, "What's going on?" Billie asked.

"Where's Piper?" Leo questioned looking between them.

Phoebe looked at Paige, Paige sighed, "She's in the cavern with Acerbitas."

"WHAT?" Leo and Billie both asked.

"Paige," Leo began "How could you just leave her there?"

"It's not like I wanted to. There was a poisonous plant separating us, she wanted me to get Phoebe out of there." Paige explained quickly, a little flustered, "I'm going back, I just, Billie did you find anything to counter act that damn dagger?"

"Just one thing, I think these marble amulets may help to counteract the dagger enough so that Acerbitas isn't protected from your powers." Billie handed Paige the amulet, "Marble is pure and strong, and the inscriptions are a force of good magic..." Billie trailed off.

"It's not much to send them in with" Leo said warily.

"It's all we've got" Paige replied as she moved to orb out.

"I'm coming with you" Phoebe said.

"No, its too dangerous, Piper wanted me to bring you here for a reason, and she must have considered I may have brought you back to the house, and there would be danger waiting. I think that's why she wanted me with you."

"My obligations to you guys don't end just because I'm pregnant, and if we're doing this again, we're in it together." Phoebe looked serious. "I'm not about to sit by while my sisters risk their lives. I can't loose you guys. I won't."

Paige hugged Phoebe, "You won't, but we have to take care of you. I'll get Piper back."

"Your pregnant?" Leo asked stunned.

"And you're back?" Billie asked excitedly.

Paige ignored her younger charge, "If I'm not back in an hour, Billie will come to see if we need help, sound good?"

"Yeah!" Billie nodded a little too excitedly.

Phoebe looked reluctant, but she stayed put as Paige orbed out.

* * *

Paige orbed into the carven, which now appeared to be deserted except for the bubbling cauldron heated by a fire. "Piper?" Paige whispered, as she crept further into the cave. "Piper." She said a bit louder. She couldn't see Piper anywhere and she was starting to get worried. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave her alone. "Piper!" she now yelled. No answer. Finally she was deep in the cave, she could no longer see the cauldron, when she spotted a body on the ground. She ran towards it, it was Piper. "Oh God, please be alive. Piper?" She shook her sister. "Piper!" Panic was rising in Paige's voice now she cradled Pipers unconscious body in her arms. She tried to heal her sister, but couldn't. She noticed Pipers wrist had been cut open, she clutched the amulet to her chest and prayed. She held Pipers arm in her hand and the cut sealed almost fully so that the bleeding stopped, but Paige couldn't heal all the poison, Pipers breath was growing shallow.

All of a sudden Paige was yanked up by her hair, "I'm almost impressed" came the sound of Acerbitas's voice behind her. He yanked the marble amulet out of her hand and threw her to the ground beside Piper. He then shoved a plant dripping with blood towards her face and Paige immediately became unconscious. "Works like a charm every time." He chuckled to himself as he stood above Paige with the dagger.

* * *

Phoebe paced back and forth in the library, as Billie and Leo were looking through books, they had found more information on Acerbitas;

 _A hired demon who uses enchantments to enhance already poisonous plants. Although he was a lower level demon, he was often protected and regarded as fairly dangerous to the common witch. They key to his weakness was to use healing herbs to counteract the poisons in combination with powerful white magic._

Billie had already made several potions, but was having trouble coming up with a spell. "Phoebe, a little help here?" she asked.

Phoebe stopped pacing to look at both Leo and Billie staring at her, "Did you say something?" she asked.

"Uh yeah, are you going to help us with this spell or not?" Billie repeated sounding a little annoyed.

"Sorry," Phoebe replied going over to the table and sitting down, "I just, I have a really bad feeling about this..." Phoebe trailed off and focused her energy on her sisters, she swallowed the lump in her throat, "They're in trouble Leo, I can feel it."

"What, what do you mean?" Leo asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I mean I know that something is seriously wrong, they're both hurt."

"It hasn't even been an hour yet," Billie tried to reassure her, "Paige just orbed out. She said an hour, and then I'd go remember?"

"I know they're in trouble, and I won't let them die." Phoebe stood from the table and walked out of the library very upset.

* * *

In the cave, the hooded figure shimmered in to find both Piper and Paige lying unconscious on the floor.

Acerbitas turned, "The middle sister did not come."

"She will, the bond the sisters share is unbreakable, even by her unborn child she carries within her. Play on her fear of losing her baby, _and_ her sisters, and then make her choose, one or the other. It is a win win situation" the voice sneered. "And whatever you do, make sure you get some of her blood in that damn cauldron." The voice hissed and shimmered out.

* * *

Phoebe came back into the library with a vial clutched tightly in the palm of her hand. Leo and Billie looked up at her, they had completed the spell and all the potions, "They haven't come back?" Phoebe asked.

"No." Leo looked pale.

"Then I'm going" Phoebe grabbed the potions and the spell and threw the potion she had carried with her at her feet. The potion exploded in a puff of smoke and Phoebe was gone.

Billie and Leo exchanged stunned looks.

"Didn't see that one coming," Billie commented, and Leo's frown deepens.

* * *

Phoebe appeared in the cavern, her stomach turned and she clutched her unborn baby. Shaking it off, she walked quietly into the cave. "Piper? Paige?" Phoebe called, as she caught sight of them and began to walk quickly over.

Acerbitas stepped out of the shadows blocking Phoebes path to her sisters. Phoebe quickly slipped the potions and spell into her back pocket so he didn't see. Acerbitas was back in his human form now. "I'm sorry Phoebe, you're too late."

"Your lying." Phoebe said, although there was a slight quiver in her voice that Acerbitas detected.

"Maybe I am" he said with a smirk "But you don't know for sure, do you."

Phoebe looked over to her sisters, "Paige, Piper!" she yelled.

"Oh, they aren't going to answer you. But you're going to answer me." Phoebe glared at Acerbitas. "Now, I'm a reasonable demon, but first I need you to give a little." He swept towards Phoebe in an instant and slashed her wrist, she screamed and clutched the gash. "Now," he said as he dropped the blood into the cauldron. "where were we?"

Phoebe glared at him, "Back off, if you kill my sisters I will vanquish you."

Acerbitas laughed, "You think you can vanquish me on your own? Doubtful. But I'm sure we can come to an agreement. You see, the poison your sisters are enduring is causing them great pain and suffering, it begins in the stomach and slowly kills everything at is spreads from the centre, to every, other, part of your body. Once it spreads everywhere, it then works its way back to the heart to kill. Although, your sisters are surprisingly strong."

Phoebe lunged forward a bit. "No" Acerbitas said, putting his hand up to stop her, "You see, if you go over there, you will be infected...but...I don't know if it would affect you, as it is affecting them."

Phoebes eyes narrowed, "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, I would think...oh I don't know, this is just a theory, you know?"

"Get on with it" Phoebe said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, I would think that, that baby of yours growing inside of you, may just take in the poison instead of you. Resulting in it's death, not yours. "

Phoebe went pale, "So it is true" Acerbitas smirked "Another Charmed One is having a child. Tisk tisk. Good karma in this world is growing much too fast." He said shaking his head. "That's why you all are going to die. Well, not you of course- just your sisters, and your unborn child."

"No" was all Phoebe could muster, she looked at her sisters and held her stomach. Thoughts were racing through her mind, she fell to the ground.

Acerbitas walked behind her, and whispered into her ear, "of course, I'm a business man, and you gave me a little, so I'll give you a little, a choice, if you will." Phoebe looked up at him. "Your sisters, or, your baby."

"I can't," Phoebe said now crying.

"You have to lose to realize the value of gain, and you haven't lost anything yet." Acerbitas mused, "So what will it be, your sisters or baby? If you choose your baby, you wont have to deal with us demons anymore, because the Charmed Ones, will, be dead." He smiled. "You can't kill an innocent baby can you?"

Phoebe looked down at her stomach, "I love you baby," she whispered. As she pushed past Acerbitas and went to her sisters they were barley breathing.

"Oh my, that was unexpected." He mused.

"So is this you bastard, Phoebe threw all three potions at Acerbitas and clutching her sisters hands, she read the spell:

 _Demon of distorting pain, Through the roots relive the game. Forever with this witches spell, take this demon back to hell._

 _Through the power of three, so mote it be._

Acerbitas reverted to his demonic self as the potion combined with the spell caused his own straps of seaweed to strangle him. "You still made the ultimate sacrifice Phoebe, there is one less of the next generation, and in that I have succeeded!" he yelled before he burst into flames.

Phoebe turned to her sisters and poured the last potion she brought down each of their throats, there was just enough for Phoebe to take a final swig before her sisters came to. She grabbed them both and hugged them before they even realized what was happening.

"Okay, what just happened?" Paige asked.

"A healing plant counteracted the poison, magnified by our magic." Phoebe explained, "The same healing plant that vanquished Acerbitas."

"Oh" Paige said.

"Are you alright?" Piper asked Phoebe

"Lets talk about that once we're out of here," Phoebe looked unwell and her voice shook, "Paige, do you think you can orb us back to Magic School?"

"Uh I think so," Paige replied, Phoebe still had her hands on her sisters shoulders and they orbed out.

* * *

As soon as they orbed back into Magic School, Leo and Billie ran towards them, Leo embraced Piper.

"You're okay!" Billie said, looking relieved, and then hitting Phoebe, "You weren't supposed to go."

"What can I say? I'm stubborn, and I won't even be out suborned by you missy." Colour was coming back to Phoebes face now. "It was a close one though..."

All of a sudden Coop appeared "Phoebe are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm alright." Phoebe replied, "Now."

"And?" he said looking down at her belly.

"It's alright, they know, and she's alright." Phoebe placed a protective hand over her stomach.

Paige stepped towards Phoebe and put a hand on her shoulder, "I can feel her, and she's okay."

Phoebe nodded thankfully at her sister, but couldn't bring herself to speak as her eyes watered with emotion and she let Coop pull her into his arms. His embrace gave her the strength she needed to swallow the lump in her throat and address her family, "I think we have a big problem. The demons want to cause us as much pain and suffering as we caused them... by targeting the next generation."

"We need to figure out who the hell is behind this and stop them before they get started." Piper replied.

* * *

Back in the cave, the hooded figure orbed in. He approached the cauldron which contained all three sisters blood, "Only one more." He hissed as he grabbed the cauldron and shimmered out.


End file.
